London close: Footsie higher on M&A news
London's benchmark index posted strong gains thanks to a host of M&A news while US stocks creeping into positive territory gave stocks a second-wind near the end.
Centrica rallied on talk from Russian giant Gazprom that it is close to a deal to increase its British market presence. The British Gas owner is one of the companies Gazprom has expressed an interest in previously.
Barclays also went well on a report that hedge fund Atticus Capital wants it to drop its agreed bid for ABN Amro, warning it will vote against it if Barclays proceeds. Ongoing bid speculation also gave InterContinental Hotels a lift.
Chocolate maker Cadbury Schweppes moved ahead on rumours that its is to sell Monkhill Confectionery, manufacturer of Butterkist popcorn brand.
Rising metal prices gave the likes of Lonmin, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton a boost, recovering from last week's losses.
Morgan Stanley has repeated its 'overweight' rating for Tesco with 490p price target, sending the supermarket goliath higher. On Friday the supermarket giant agreed to buy garden centre owner Dobbies for £155.6m but rumours suggest that Sir Tom Hunter, owner of Wyevale Garden Centres, is considering making a counter-bid for Dobbies.
Meanwhile, Lloyds TSB has gained after Merrill Lynch said 'buy' with 705p price target, while a Citigroup 'buy' note and 875p target encouraged insurer Prudential higher.
Can group Rexam is raising up to £300m in a placing to help fund the proposed acquisition of Owens-Illinois Plastics for a cash consideration of $1,825m. Excluding a tax adjustment, the effective cost for O-I Plastics will be $1,565m. Its shares lead the blue chip losers.
Vodafone was also lower on weekend stories that the activist group trying to force the mobile giant into restructuring its capital structure will fail in its attempt.
Away from the leading shares, office accommodation provider Workspace Group fell sharply after it saw pre-tax profits fall 24% to £112.5m.
JJB Sports is up on bid hopes following the sale of founder David Whelan's 29% stake on Friday to a former associate of Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct billionaire.
Citigroup kept low cost airline Ryanair as a 'buy' this morning, but lowered its price target to €6 from €6.3.
Soft drinks group AG Barr says overall revenue for the first 13 weeks of the financial year increased by 21% compared with the same period last year. Like for like sales were 11% ahead of last year. The underlying soft drinks market grew by 8% in value terms, it added.
Car hire group Avis Europe has identified potential malpractice in its local subsidiary in Portugal. Its present assessment is that this, if substantiated, will have resulted in an overstatement of the group's net assets as at 31 December 2006 by approximately €3m.
Logistics software group Kewill Systems reported a 56% increase in underlying profits Monday and announced the payment of a dividend for the first time in eight years. Underlying operating profits to March leapt to £4.7m from £3m a year earlier, on revenue up 31% to £41.6m.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,665.00p +4.59%
Cadbury Schweppes (CBRY) 703.00p +3.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,303.00p +2.76%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,206.00p +2.73%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,592.00p +2.60%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,503.00p +2.59%
Shire (SHP) 1,177.00p +2.44%
Schroders Nv (SDRC) 1,180.00p +2.43%
Schroders (SDR) 1,340.00p +2.37%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,126.00p +2.36%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Rexam (REX) 494.50p -3.32%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,229.00p -1.29%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 157.90p -1.25%
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Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,977.00p -0.80%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,936.00p -0.67%
Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) 149.60p -0.53%
Northern Rock (NRK) 1,026.00p -0.10%
Sage Group (SGE) 240.25p -0.10%
Alliance Boots (AB.) 1,124.00p 0.00%
HBOS (HBOS) 1,070.00p 0.00%
FTSE 250 - Risers
FKI (FKI) 128.75p +5.75%
Helical Bar (HLCL) 432.75p +4.78%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 1,486.00p +3.92%
St Modwen Property (SMP) 645.50p +3.69%
Debenhams (DEB) 141.25p +3.48%
Marston's (MARS) 447.50p +3.35%
JJB Sports (JJB) 257.75p +3.31%
BlueBay (BBAY) 553.00p +3.27%
Serco Group (SRP) 460.50p +3.25%
SSL International (SSL) 430.00p +3.24%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Workspace Group (WKP) 398.50p -6.73%
Signet Group (SIG) 107.25p -2.72%
British Energy Group (BGY) 529.00p -2.40%
Bovis Homes (BVS) 947.00p -2.07%
Premier Oil (PMO) 1,036.00p -1.89%
Topps Tiles (TPT) 239.75p -1.84%
Wimpey (George) (WMPY) 562.00p -1.83%
Expro International (EXR) 937.50p -1.83%
Bellway (BWY) 1,287.00p -1.68%
Caledonia Investment (CLDN) 2,060.00p -1.67%
